Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Raw Milk Part 2 and Whipped Cream Cake

This is a continuing post about my journey with raw milk. Hopefully you are thinking about processed milk and beginning to question some of the decisions food safety experts make where your food is concerned. I am not against safety measures to protect me from food born illness. I do believe the animal producing the food should be part of that safety and quality process. Happy cows = happy cheeses and milk!
So you think you might like to know your local dairy farmer? Maybe set up a cow share with your neighbors? Awesome! Here is how my set up works!
I pick up 1/2 to 1 gallon of milk each Saturday from a family dairy with 3 Jersey Cows. It is self service. I put my cash in an envelope. I mark down the number of jars I am returning and place them on a rack. The envelope has my name, amount paid, jars returned, and any other comments I need to leave such as change in amount of milk I need or vacation dates. My milk is placed in the milking parlor refrigerator into a mason jar with my name on it. The milk looks like this.

Raw or fresh milk looks different. The color is buttery yellow. If the milk has had a chance to sit a couple of hours the cream begins to rise to the top. It is a thick yellowish layer. Being the city slicker I am I had not idea why my milk was so Chunky. So I would vigorously shake it up. Boy do I regret that now!

Now I know the awesomeness that is fresh cream! You can get pasturized milk and still have cream. It is the homogenization process that gives a blended milk. Homogenized milk will not separate to give you a cream top. Now each week when I buy my fresh milk I pour off the cream.

See! The container on the left is milk and the right is all cream! Fresh cream is lightly sweet, buttery and sooo creamy. There are no cooked milk notes, no sour lactic notes, and no cardboard flavors. It tastes fresh and clean. This is the first time I have really had fresh cream. I use it in coffee and baked goods.
The first recipe I tried it in blew my mind! I made Rose's Whipped Cream Cake.
The cake used no butter just cream. The flavor and texture are reminiscent of pound cake with a lighter crumb closer to an angel food and (I am not sure how this is possible) a strong butter flavor. I have made two of these in the last 3 weeks! yikes! It is a quick cake to put together and disappears equally as fast.

Whipped Cream Cake by Rose Levy Beranbaum "Heavenly Cakes"
Serves: 8 to 10
Baking Time: 25 to 35 minutes
This unusual old-time recipe was sent to me by chef Anthony Stella, a restaurateur in Delaware, who asked if I could perform a makeover on it. What intrigued both of us about the recipe was that at first glace it seemed to contain no butter or oil. But on closer analysis, I discovered that the butterfat contained in the cream was more than equal to the usual amount of butter added. My makeover involved a nip and tuck, decreasing the sugar and baking powder and increasing the salt to compensate for the saltiness previously provided by a higher amount of baking powder. I also increased the overall yield by one and a half times and baked the cake in a fluted tube pan to give it an attractive appearance and more center support. The result is a perfectly even and exceptionally moist and tender cake. Batter Ingredients
Cake Flour or bleached all-purpose flour, sifted (2 1/4 cups/8 ounces/225 grams)
Baking powder (2 teaspoons/2 teaspoons/2 teaspoons)
Salt (3/4 teaspoon/3/4 teaspoon/3/4 teaspoon)
Heavy cream, cold (1 1/2 cups/12.3 ounces/348 grams)
3 large eggs, at room temperature (1/2 cup plus 1 1/2 tablespoons/5.3 ounces/150 grams)
Pure vanilla extract (1 teaspoon/1 teaspoon/1 teaspoon)
Superfine sugar (1 cup plus 2 tablespoons/8 ounces/225 grams) Special Equipment
One 10-cup fluted metal tube pan, coated with baking spray with flour Preheat the Oven
Twenty minutes or more before baking, set an oven rack in the lower third of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C (350°F/175°C if using a dark pan). Mix the Dry Ingredients
In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt and then sift them together to make the mixture easier to incorporate. Mix the Liquid Ingredients
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk beater, whip the cream, starting on low speed, gradually raising the speed to medium-high as it thickens, until stiff peaks form when the beater is raised.
In a medium bowl, whisk the eggs and vanilla just until lightly combined. On medium-high speed, gradually beat the egg mixture into the whipped cream. The mixture will thicken into mayonnaise consistency (unless high-butterfat cream is used). Gradually beat in the sugar. It should take about 30 seconds to incorporate it. Make the Batter
Add half the flour mixture to the cream mixture and, with a large silicone spatula, stir and fold in the flour until most of it disappears. Add the rest of the flour mixture and continue folding and mixing until all traces of flour have disappeared. Using a silicone spatula or spoon, scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Run a small metal spatula or dull knife blade through the batter to prevent large air bubbles, avoiding the bottom of the pan. Smooth the surface evenly with a small metal spatula. Bake the Cake
Bake for 25 to 35 minutes, or until a wooden toothpick inserted between the tube and the side comes out completely clean and the cake springs back when pressed lightly in the center. The cake should start to shrink from the sides of the pan only after removal from the oven. Cool and Unmold the Cake
Let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack for 10 minutes. With a small metal spatula, loosen the top edges of the cake and invert the cake onto a wire rack that has been coated lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Cool completely. The cake requires no adornment, but I love to serve it with a light dusting of powdered sugar or a large dollop of lightly sweetened Whipped Cream (page 115).
Notes: Do not chill the bowl and beaters for the heavy cream because the eggs will not emulsify as readily if the whipped cream is too cold.
High-butterfat (40 percent) heavy cream produces a finer, more tender crumb. This cream is generally available only to bakeries and restaurants, but it is certainly worth asking your local baker to sell you a container.

Omg I want a cow share! What an adorable phrase, and a great idea. And I am kind of obsessed with Rose Levy Berenbaum and sometimes just read The Cake Bible for fun- I can't even imagine how even MORE blissful her recipes are with such beautiful, pristine cream!

Have I ever told you how much I love your blog? You really have me thinking. I need to find a cow share situation is Socal. There are times already I've needed unpasturized cream and have been unable to find it. I bet the fat content of the cream is higher than that which you can buy.

About Me

Hello and thank you for stopping by! I have a passion for baking and photography but, only after discovering food blogs did I realize I could combine the two. Food photography is really challenging and seeking the perfect recipe for cakes, cookies, scones, etc is never ending. Blogging seemed like a great way to meet other foodies, challenge my baking skills, and have some fun. So Here I AM!
I would love to hear from you at k80 isnt at gmail dot com.